Tuesday, October 25, 2005

SCREENPLAY UPDATE

I am thrilled. To say the least. Talked to my friend, Mark, and he said the signed contracts from the production company had come back and our first check came. I should get my copies and my share in the mail this week. Whoa! This is amazing. I co-wrote a script that is going to be made into a “real” movie. This has been a dream since I was a kid. Audiences will be able to watch a movie that I helped create. Okay, the whole thing could collapse and never happen. I know that. It could turn out to be a dud. One never knows. But, on the other hand, it could turn out to be a cool little science fiction-horror film. Hey, I just hit the lottery. Yep. I did.

I want to tell everyone I see. I do. Some people will be excited for me, some won’t care. The ones that make me nervous however are the ones who say: “I have an idea for a movie.” Then they want to tell you all about it. Unless I know the person well, I learned a long time ago that I don’t want to hear their idea. Over the years, I have read a lot and seen a great deal of movies. I have filed away bits and pieces from magazine and newspaper articles. I have noted certain phases and ways of speaking. After a while, I don’t remember where I saw or heard the information I’m using in my writing. The last thing I want is to be accused of stealing someone else’s idea. I don’t steal from anyone. I observe and put it into my own words. So, what do I do when someone says they have an idea for a novel or screenplay. As I said unless I know them well, I suggest they take a college class – like I did – or go to Barnes & Noble and buy a book on creative writing or screenwriting.

Meanwhile, Mark and I have spitballed another idea. Does it have legs? We’ll see. Some ideas work out, others don’t. The research begins.

3 comments:

Ideas aren't copyrightable for a reason. There are bazillions of ways to interpret an idea--if someone GIVES their's away (by telling it to you) your interpetation would still be different than theirs.

OR

You could always wear a warning label on your forehead ... :-)

I'll be checking in on the progress of your script --thanks for sharing. It's fun to read about it all.